TwoJay

I have always wanted a rotary and was looking at getting a series 4-5 RX-7 but I don't want to get a problem car, have always heard people saying that rotary engine always break down but it is always from someone that has never owned one. The fact is that the wife will kill me if I buy a car that will break and leave my pockets empty and will I be fixing it al the time, I am not after getting lots of power out of it I just want a stock one to drive around in, are they relieable if kept in this form and looked after and if so can anyone tell me what to look for when buying one. I see alot of modified ones for sale with rebuilt egines and they have changed every part on the motor if I got one of these and just put the boost back to standard will be a pretty relieable car also as the engine has been rebuilt. Also how many kms will the engine last if turbo ,should I try to get a standard one with low kms like 70,000-120,000 and may never had a engine build or sure I go for the modified one with all the bells and wistles with the feshly rebuilt engine.
And please can I only here from people that have owned RX-7 them self

sledr

I am the original owner of a 1989 N/A RX-7 (S5) and have had very few problems with mine. I have 106,000 miles on mine. I have a friend who has 300,000 miles on an S5, still loves it and has had very few problems.

A regular contributor to this site has his own web page that gives good pointers on what to look for when buying an RX-7==> http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm

I have started to experience a few more problems in the past couple years, but haven't kept up with the maintenance on the car real well (had family obligations). The driver door handle has been problematic and had to be replaced recently. A couple years ago, the motor for the driver side window had to be replaced and a plastic air intake (I think) broke. Also recently the Oil Metering Pump broke on mine. It's expensive to replace, but if you go premix and bypass the the OMP it's not expensive at all! About 10 years ago, I did have some expensive work done, can't remember exactly what it was, I had the dealer fix it. I think it was some "dampers" ?? ;-] But the engine itself has been rock solid. Of course we'll see, once I get the OMP bypassed ??

A big part of my decision to keep my car is that I've found recently that there are a lot of RX-7 enthusiasts where I live and a couple good mechanics who specialize in RX-7s in the area. So it would be good to check on that.

But overall I have had very few problems with my car and considering what it costs to buy a new one, I don't mind spending some money now and then on maintenance.

I LUV my RX-7 and hope to keep it for another 20 years and another 100,000 miles.

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

The whole "rotaries always break down" thing comes from people that have no idea how the engines even work. The fact is that a rotary will typically have just as long a life as your average piston engine.

Two factors that can lead to premature engine death would be improper oil lubrication and excess heat. Turbo applications produce additional heat, so they're usually expected to last a little less than a comparable NA, but it's still a good long while. My old TII had around 130k miles on the original engine and was still fine, and my convertible's original NA engine has 180k.

A third factor (and far too common) would be people trying to get more power out of their turbo engine without adding fuel. When a rotary runs lean, it's pretty much instant death. But when modifications are made with this in mind, this can be avoided.

But, we're also talking about a ~20 year old car, so there will be plenty of maintence required to make sure everything is up to par. A full tune up and replacement of all hoses/belts will be the first thing you want to do. Learning to work on the car yourself will also be a must. Very few mechanics know how to work on these cars (unless we're talking basic, general repair), and you'll save a lot of cash avoiding shop rates.